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As the Immokalee High School boys soccer team prepared for its Class 3A regional quarterfinal game against Cape Coral-Mariner on Wednesday night, the Indians had to forget about past success against the Tritons.

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Immokalee's Raymundo Cervantes hoists Ulises Soto (10) into the air in celebration after Cervantes scored the second of Immokalee's two goals in the first half of action against Mariner during the Class 3A regional quarterfinal Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 in Immokalee. Immokalee took a 2-0 lead into halftime. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News, Naples Daily News

Mariner's Robert Franco dribbles the ball in the first half of action during the Class 3A regional quarterfinal Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 in Immokalee. Immokalee took a 2-0 lead into halftime. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News, Naples Daily News

Immokalee's Juan Velasquez (19) fires a shot into goal as Mariner's goalkeeper makes play on the ball in the first half of action during the Class 3A regional quarterfinal Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 in Immokalee. Immokalee took a 2-0 lead into halftime. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News, Naples Daily News

Immokalee's Ulises Soto (10) is tripped up by Mariner's John Franco in the first half of action during the Class 3A regional quarterfinal Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 in Immokalee. Immokalee took a 2-0 lead into halftime. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News, Naples Daily News

Immokalee's Ulises Soto (10) battles for possession with two Mariner defenders in the first half of action during the Class 3A regional quarterfinal Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 in Immokalee. Immokalee took a 2-0 lead into halftime. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News, Naples Daily News

Immokalee's Raymundo Cervantes hoists Ulises Soto (10) into the air in celebration after Cervantes scored the second of Immokalee's two goals in the first half of action against Mariner during the Class 3A regional quarterfinal Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 in Immokalee. Immokalee took a 2-0 lead into halftime. (Photo: Luke Franke/Naples Daily News, Naples Daily News)Buy Photo

As the Immokalee High School boys soccer team prepared for its Class 3A regional quarterfinal game against Cape Coral-Mariner on Wednesday night, the Indians had to forget about past success against the Tritons.

Immokalee knocked Mariner out in this round last year with a 2-1 win. More impressively, the Indians dominated the Tritons 7-0 in a home game last month.

“What I try to get our kids to understand is, it’s not the game in the past you’re playing, but the game you’re playing right now,” Immokalee veteran coach Saintano Damas said. “Especially at this stage we’re at now. Everybody’s trying to knock each other out, so those games you played earlier against them really don’t matter.”

Immokalee indeed saw a more spirited effort from Mariner, but rode a pair of first-half goals by Raymundo Cervantes to build the early lead and got a pair of late tallies after the Tritons had cut the deficit in half. With the 4-1 victory, the Indians (19-1-2) earned a trip to the regional semifinals, where they will host Cape Coral on Saturday night.

Mariner (17-10-3) was much better defensively this time around, but couldn’t quite play the perfect game required to knock off the favored Indians. The Tritons were also playing without four key players, forced to sit out the game for missing practice. That blow to the team’s depth certainly hurt their chances against a seasoned Immokalee team looking for its third consecutive regional championship.

“They obviously have a lot of speed and a lot of skill so we decided to play a little tighter in the back,” Mariner coach Martin Cardenas said. “They got two goals on two great switches in the first half, got us on the back side. If it wasn’t for us trying to get that tie (in the second half), it probably ends up a 2-1 game. But we got more aggressive, trying to tie the game and they got us on a couple counter attacks. They’re a very good team. They definitely look like they know how to finish.”

Cervantes has certainly finished his share of chances over the years, and he’s been especially hot of late. He followed his two-goal performance in the district championship win over Lely with two more, and he nearly had a third in the second half when his shot hit the crossbar. Cervantes said he knew Mariner would come out playing much better than when the Indians saw them last, but he also was extremely confident his squad would know how to handle it.

“We knew how they play and we had beaten them 7-0,” Cervantes said. “But we also knew that this was regionals and they would come out much stronger, so we had to do the same thing we did against Lely, which was just come out and play as a team.”

Damas felt his team may have relaxed a bit with the 2-0 lead, maybe leading some complacency. That feeling flew out the window when Mariner senior Steven Langdale scored in the second half to make it 2-1.

“You have to keep the guys under control,” Damas said. “You have to reassure them that we’re still up 2-1. Remember you’re winning and don’t panic, because that can lead to another mistake, which is really how they scored, we weren’t ready to react. But once they scored, the key was not to get emotional because when they get too emotional, they tend to go off our game plan.”

The Indians responded with late tallies by Ulisses Soto and Jonas Jean Charles to put the game away.

“We just got back to possessing the ball and moving the ball quickly, because that’s how you create chances,” Damas said. “I thought at times tonight we held the ball a little too long and allowed their defense to get set. When we’re moving the ball well and possessing it well, we’re a hard team to beat.”